Ellen Gray

Television Critic

Ellen Gray is the television critic for the Daily News and the Inquirer, and has written about TV since 1994. Her mind will go blank if you ask her to name her favorite show, because she has so many, but she would love to hear about yours.

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming. While I’ll always remember fondly the night the first Sharknado took Los Angeles (and social media) by storm, I’d have thought by now we’d be done with fin-infested twisters. (So much for my career as a TV weather forecaster.) I didn’t screen this in advance, and yet I can safely promise there will be shark-jumping. Or at least jumping sharks. 8 p.m. Sunday, Syfy.

Ray Donovan. Liev Schreiber returns for a fifth season as a Hollywood enforcer with a turbulent family life. 9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime.

The Story of Diana. The summer of Diana continues with this four-hour documentary miniseries, produced in conjunction with People magazine. 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, ABC.

Transparent. The Amazon series starring Jeffrey Tambor as a trans woman comes to cable in a limited event: The first two seasons will be shown, three episodes at a time, every Wednesday beginning this week. 10 p.m. Wednesday, SundanceTV.

Atypical. Keir Gilchrist (United States of Tara) stars as Sam, an 18-year-old with autism, in a coming-of-age story. Sam’s family, too, is moving in new directions. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michael Rapaport play parents Elsa and Doug while Brigette Lundy-Paine plays his sister, Casey. Aug. 11, Netflix.